Liberal Democrats take control of Bishop’s Stortford Town Council as Tory support crumbles

Bishop’s Stortford has a Liberal Democrat town council after the party won 10 seats in Thursday’s (May 4) local elections.

As counting ended on Friday (May 5), Labour had five members and the Conservative support slumped, leaving the party with just two representatives.

It was a dramatic change of fortunes. Before the vote, the Tories had control with 12 seats, the Lib Dems had four and Labour just one.

Cllr Calvin Horner kept his seat for the Lib Dems after winning at East Herts Council level too. He is also a Hertfordshire county councillor. Cllr Richard Townsend mirrored that success by holding on to both his town and district seats.

Cllr Mione Goldspink, the Lib Dem group leader at East Herts Council, added a town council seat to her portfolio, as did her district colleague Cllr Chris Wilson. The party’s new names on the town and district councils are Miriam Swainston, Martin Adams and Sarah Copley while Stephen Skinner, Murray White and Richard Bower secured town council seats.

After Terence Beckett did not contest his seat, Bob Taylor was the only sitting Lib Dem town councillor to miss the cut, losing out to Labour’s Yvonne Estop and David Jacobs, who both added a town council seat to their East Herts district council successes.

Their party colleagues Alex Chapman, Oliver Diffey and Matthew Bird will be joining them on the town council. The party’s only successful candidate in 2019, Jill Sortwell, did not stand again.

Big scalps claimed by the Lib Dems and Labour included the Conservative mayor Dave Anderson, who also failed in his bid to secure an East Herts district seat, and his deputy as the civic leader, Toby Garrett.

The only Tories to survive the rout were the town council’s current leader, Cllr John Wyllie, who also salvaged a district seat for his party, and sitting Cllr Holly Drake, who did not contest her former East Herts seat.

The town council’s deputy Tory group leader David Snowdon failed to retain his seat and was also unsuccessful in the district contest.

George Cutting lost both his town and East Herts seats. He was the district’s executive member for corporate services. His long-serving Central ward colleague Norma Symonds also lost her town and district seats, as did Tory Tim Page.

While fellow veteran Diane Hollebon salvaged a district council seat for her party, she lost her town council spot, as did former mayor Keith Warnell. Shane Manning and Judith Ranger did not stand for re-election to the town council.

A Boundary Commission review finalised last year kept the total number of seats on the town council the same at 17 but mixed up the ward boundaries with an increase from five to nine.

As a result, All Saints, Central, Chantry, Parsonage, Silverleys, South, Thorley Manor North and Thorley Manor South returned two members each with one for Waterside.

Previously All Saints, Meads and Silverleys had three, with four in Central and South wards.

BISHOP’S STORTFORD ALL SAINTS (2 elected) – MARTIN ADAMS Lib Dem 723, RICHARD BOWER Lib Dem 598, Naomi Snowdon Con 226, Alastair Ward-Booth Con 203, Sophia Adams Bhatti Lab 189, Jane Band Lab 140. Turnout 32.93%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD CENTRAL (2 elected) – YVONNE ESTOP Lab 873, DAVID JACOBS Lab 858, Norma Symonds Con 489, Bob Taylor Lib Dem 484, George Cutting Con 469. Turnout 31.4%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD CHANTRY (2 elected) – MIRIAM SWAINSTON Lib Dem 621, MATTHEW BIRD Lab 331, Daniel Barnett Lab 247, David Moran Con 218, Suzie Moran Con 197. Turnout 35.29%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD PARSONAGE (2 elected) – CHRIS WILSON Lib Dem 902, RICHARD TOWNSEND Lib Dem 836, Colin Woodward Ind 525, John Boyle Lab 376, Andrew Turvey Con 373, Anu Senanayake Con 324. Turnout 38.66%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD SILVERLEYS (2 elected) – SARAH COPLEY Lib Dem 632, STEPHEN SKINNER Lib Dem 556, Tim Page Con 301, Dave Anderson Con 288. Turnout 32.08%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD SOUTH (2 elected) – OLIVER DIFFEY Lab 669, ALEX CHAPMAN Lab 624, Diane Hollebon Con 480, Keith Warnell Con 443. Turnout 34.61%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD THORLEY MANOR NORTH (2 elected) – CALVIN HORNER Lib Dem 801, HOLLY DRAKE Con 509, Toby Garrett Con 435. Turnout 33.48%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD THORLEY MANOR SOUTH (2 elected) – MIONE GOLDSPINK Lib Dem 684, JOHN WYLLIE Con 470, David Snowdon Con 449. Turnout 34.42%

BISHOP’S STORTFORD WATERSIDE (1 elected) – MURRAY WHITE Lib Dem 54, Andy Van Loen Con 19. Turnout 15.02%